


The Crossroads

by KrimzonKrow



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dark, Dialogue Heavy, F/M, Fights, Mild Smut, Mystery, Plot, Romance, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-11-18 09:40:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18118205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrimzonKrow/pseuds/KrimzonKrow
Summary: After the defeat of Tartaros, Natsu starts acting strange and suddenly disappears, leaving behind a heartbroken Erza. She decides to go after him and Gray vows to take down E.N.D at all costs while Gajeel and Wendy learn the truth of Being Dragon Slayers. During their  travels, they'll fight agianst enemies, encounter mysteries, and previous held secrets will begin to surface forcing everyone to come to a crossroads that will threatens to divide the very guild. Not to mention that a war against Zeref and the Alvarez Empire looms on the horizon. "The road ahead of you is only going to get colder from here on out… Erza."





	1. The Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, posting for the first time. Hope you guys enjoy the fist chapter and more to come in the future.

 

It was all over... the war with Tartaros was over and Fairy Tail had come out victorious, albeit barely. They had stopped the activation of Face and the revival of END, well at least for now.

Makarov scanned over the remains and debris of their guild which and sighed. 'It's nothing but rubble now. What are you planning at… Zeref?'

He had heard from Gray that Zeref had come after the defeat of the Underworld King, Mard Geer and took the book END with him and disappeared. He could never figure out that man.

But now, his thoughts drifted away from Zeref and END and he feared for the worst that was to come. With the Magic Council being blown to smithereens courtesy of Jackal, and the destruction of Etherion and Face… there was nothing stopping the Alvarez Empire from invading Ishgar, more specifically Fiore. Last time they tried to invade Ishgar, they only stopped because of the Council's Etherion Cannon and Face but now with those two things out of the way.

'Once Alvarez catches wind of this, that is, if they haven't already, they will no doubt put a plan into action and try and take Fairy Heart.'

Great, now he had to think of some way to avoid a war. A war in which they would no doubt, be obliterated. Now Makarov knew how strong his children were and was in no way dismissing their abilities but, he knew. He knew about the Spriggan Twelve and how they were said that each one of them was as strong, if not stronger than one of the Four Kings of Ishgar.

Many ideas came to his mind like disbanding the guild, and hopefully get his children as far away from the guild and Fairy Heart as possible, while he could go to Alvarez to try and negotiate and hopefully avoid war but nothing guaranteed success and that would leave Fairy Heart unprotected and ripe for the taken. Not only that but where would his children go? He knew disbanding the guild wasn't right and he would be taking away their home and breaking their heart. He couldn't do that. Finally, he decided on what to do.

"Makarov, it's done. I've erased the memories from all the guild members about  **Lumen Histoire**." Mest called out from behind the small man.

Makarov stayed silent.

"But I will not erase my own memories. I don't want to mess with my own memories." Mest declared as he crossed his arms.

Makarov turned to look at Mest. "Actually that won't be necessary Mest. You're a good man, so I trust you with this information, and besides... I need you to do something for me."

Mest raised an eyebrow while giving Makarov a quizzical look, but seeing how serious the small man was, he nodded. "Yeah, what do you need me to do."

* * *

 

**_1 WEEK LATER_ **

Today since sunrise the guild had begun to slowly show up to finish rebuilding their guildhall for the umpteenth time. Almost everyone had shown up. Elfman was seen carrying large furniture yelling about how rebuilding the guild 'IS A MAN!'. Lisanna was going up and down the building, using her Animal Soul Take Over Magic to go faster and passing things to various members as they needed and Mirajane was sweeping the floor and bringing food and beverages to the guild members. Lucy was struggling to carry a large box full of glassware while sweating profusely. Cana helped to bring over beer barrels, taking a drink every now and then. Wendy was hanging pictures and other decorations all over the guild walls and ceiling with her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic. Pretty much everyone in the guild was helping out in some way or form.

"Shrimp, I need more nails." Gajeel said through a mouthful of nails.

"Well maybe if you'd stop eating them you wouldn't be asking me every three seconds! AND DON'T CALL ME SHRIMP! STUPID GAJEEL!" Levy Screamed at Gajeel while pouting cutely, then using her Solid Script Magic **,** she summoned nails and handed them to Gajeel.

Gajeel snorted, taking the nails from Levy and turning his head away from her while muttering something under his breath. Grabbing the nails, he turned his arm into a hammer thanks to his Iron Dragon Slayer Magicand began hammering them onto the Fairy Tail sign that sat on top of the entrance gates with a pensive look on his face.

"Hey Gajeel, are you alright? I've been meaning to ask; you've been really quiet these past few days." Levy took Gajeel out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine Levy. I've just been thinking." Gajeel told Levy while continuing to hammer away.

Levy was caught off guard, rarely did Gajeel ever call her Levy, unless whatever he was going to tell her was really important. "Yeah? About what?"

"Salamander. Something doesn't feel right."

"Huh? What are you talking about Gajeel? Last time I saw Natsu he looked fine." Levy stated

"Yeah, and when was the last time you saw him Levy?"

Levy stayed silent for a while as to remember."Last time I saw him was a few days ago, almost a week. Actually, now that you mention it, he hasn't even shown up to help rebuild the guild. Last time he was practically jumping up and down to rebuild the guild. That's odd, it's not like Natsu to distance himself like this."

Gajeel nodded. "But that's not the main reason I'm worried." he said, earning him a questioning look from levy and proceed to say "Natsu's scent, it's getting weaker and weaker every day."

"What are you trying to say? Natsu left Magnolia?" Levy questioned, confused by his implications.

"Yeah, that's what I'm trying to say." Gajeel was still amazed at how smart Levy was. To be able to deduce that on her own, but he chose to not say anything.

"But why would Natsu do that and not tell anyone? Are you even sure Gajeel?"

Gajeel grunted. "No, of course I'm not sure. But everything points to that. I mean how else could his scent be so faint? I'm guessing the little scent I'm picking up is from his home. Look Levy, I'm a Dragon Slayer and I can pick up a scent from miles away."

"But you said his scent is getting weaker right? So that means you can still smell him, no?" Levy pointed out.

"What I meant is that scent goes away with enough time, and if he left, his scent would've slowly been getting weaker until the only thing I could be able to smell would be his house since he's around that place a lot and it would linger a lot longer. I can still smell him, but I know for a fact if he were to still be in Magnolia his scent would definitely be stronger. Not much, but definitely stronger." Gajeel informed Levy.

"Why haven't you mentioned this before Gajeel!" Levy yelled, angry that he was mentioning this just now.

"I didn't mention this because I wasn't sure and I thought that I was just imagining things, you know overthinking things." Gajeel paused "Now I know for sure that I'm not imagining things." Gajeel said and stopped hammering

Levy began to think. "Wait why don't you just ask Happy? He lives with Natsu after all."

"Don't you remember that Happy, Charle, and Panther Lily all went to visit the other exceeds?

"Oh, that's right! How could I forget?! So, what are you going to do Gajeel? Are you going to go and look for him?" Levy asked him.

Gajeel snorted again. "HA, AS IF! HAHAHAHAHA." Gajeel laughed but a 'look' from Levy was all it took to get him to stop. "Besides, Salamander has a nose equally powerful if not stronger than mine. If he doesn't want to be found, then he won't be."

Levy stayed silent wondering whether to tell the guild or not until she interrupted by Gajeel who somehow knew exactly what she was thinking "I don't think it's a good idea to go around telling the guild."

"But Gaj-" Levy was once again interrupted. "We'll tell them once we go and investigate Natsu's house. We'll go today and if we do find that he's missing, then we'll tell them. But for now, don't tell the guild. We don't need to needlessly wo-" Now it was Gajeel's turn to be interrupted.

"You won't tell us what exactly Gajeel?" Gajeel's eyes widened and he spun around to see Gray staring at him with his eyes narrowed at Gajeel.

'What the hell! How the fuck did this ice bastard sneak up on me without me noticing!? I couldn't even smell him! Wait, did he cool down his scent? No way! He smells different... colder.' Gajeel began to sweat as Gray kept staring at him waiting for an answer.

"Hi Juvia! How was your trip with Gray?" Levy called out to the Water Mage who was behind gray to hopefully stray away from the current topic.

It worked as the Water Mage remembered their 'moment' at the graves of Gray's parents and she began to blush and call out to her 'Gray-sama' over and over again while jumping on him to try and hug him Gray looked like he was getting annoyed and began to push on her to try and get away from her.

As it had turned out, Gray and Juvia had just come back from their trip to Gray's parent's graves and Gray had overheard when Gajeel told Levy about not telling the guild something. He was going to make Gajeel tell him what he was hiding but then he thought that he was just overthinking thing and it was probably nothing big and decided to drop it.

'They were probably talking about telling the guild about them being a couple or something. Heh.' Gray thought amusingly before silently chuckling to himself.

"Juvia why don't you go over there and help out Lucy?" Gray pointed over to where Lucy was struggling to carry a large log. She had shaky arms and legs, and was covered in sweat.

"Anything for you, Gray-sama!" Juvia told Gary before running over to help Lucy.

Gray released a sigh of relief when he saw that she left. "Hey Gray, how's it going with Juvia? Better be treating her right."

Gray turned around to see a fully recovered Laxus standing there with a smirk on his face "Oh, so you finally decided to get your lazy ass off the bed, Laxus?" Gray ignored the questioned with a smirk of his own.

"Tell me that when you've ingested enough magic barrier particles to kill a whole group of people." Laxus retorted, slightly irritated.

"Anyways" Gray smiled. "It's good to have you back, Laxus. When'd you wake up?"

"Woke up yesterday actually. I just got here, along with those guys." Laxus gestured towards the Thunder Legion who were also beginning to help the other members.

" **GRAY! LAXUS!**  Perfect timing, we need all the muscle we can get!" Titania yelled at the two mages, wearing a white safety helmet and holding a clipboard as she approached them.

She turned to Laxus. "Good to see you back to good health."

"Yeah, I feel a lot better." Laxus said as he grabbed his shoulder with one and began to stretch it out in a circular motion.

She then turned to Gray "How did your trip go, Gray?"

Gray smiled softly "Good, it felt nice to finally go back and pay my parents a visit. Also, I wanted to make certain of  _something._ " Determination was evident in his eyes.

Erza caught the look in Gray's eyes 'It probably has something to do with Tartaros... and his father, Silver and with that, she decided not to pry.

Laxus stayed quiet after hearing Gray, but eyed him suspiciously.

Meanwhile, Erza had a small smile come to her lips as she saw the whole guild helping rebuild the guild but that was quickly replaced with a frown when she realized that there was one person missing.

"Has either one of you seen Natsu today?" Erza asked both mages.

"Huh? Flame brain? Can't say I have. I mean I just got back here not too long ago." Gray said while scratching his head.

She looked at Laxus and he shook his head "Yeah me neither. I just woke up yesterday and I just got here too."

He looked at the redhead and could tell that she was really worried. "Knowing him, he probably overslept or something." he began to laugh then put a hand on her shoulder "If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about it." He told her before walking away towards the Thunder Legion.

"Yeah Erza, I wouldn't worry about him. He's probably still sulking about his dad, you know. He'll come around. He always does." Gray tried to reassure her.

Erza smiled 'Even though those two always argue and fight, they care for each other like brothers, although they would never admit it' Erza thought "Yeah, your right Gray. Well, let us get back to work."

* * *

 

**_A FEW HOURS LATER_ **

The Guildhall was finally finished, and now many members began to sit around drinking beer and having a good time when suddenly Makarov appeared on top of the second railing.

Makarov coughed. " **ALRIGHT LISTEN UP BRATS! I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU**!" He yelled.

Getting the attention of the whole guild he began to speak one again "After thinking about this for a long time, I've decided.  **I'M STEPPING DOWN AS MASTER OF FAIRY TAIL**!"

Silence…

" **WHAAAAAA~**!" Shock erupted from the guild.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN OLD MAN!?" Laxus yelled.

"WOAH! ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Gray screamed.

The guild exploded in shock and many questions were being thrown about like 'Is he for real?', and 'Who's going to be the next master?'

Erza was slightly surprised that Makarov announced he was stepping down but she knew that Makarov already planned to step down as a guild master for a while now.

"QUIET! LET OUR MASTER FINISH SPEAKING!" Erza yelled while glaring heavily at the guild effectively shutting them up.

Makarov sweatdropped while looking at Erza. "Thank you Erza." He looked at the rest of the guild "Before I announce the 7th guild Master, I have something I must tell you. I'm going to go and travel somewhere important and might not be back for a long time."

"What? You're leaving Gramps?" Asked Gray as well as many other guild members including Lucy, Wendy, Juvia, Cana, Mirajane, Lisanna, Elfman, the Thunder Legion, and Levy while Laxus and Gajeel stayed quiet.

Questions like "Why are you leaving?", "How long will you be gone?", "Where are going to go?", "Is it far away?", "Will you be going alone?", and "Will you be alright?"

"I cannot say where or why I'll be going but this is something that I need to do." Makarov spoke in a serious but mysterious voice. "But before I leave,  **I PRESENT THE 7TH GUILD MASTER, LAXUS DREYER!** " Makarov smiled, pointing at Laxus.

"Hey wasn't he the guy that caused the fighting in the Fantasia Parade!?" A random member asked.

"Yeah, I'd rather have Erza as guild Master! And that's saying something!" Another fodder member spoke up from the crowd.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Erza asked appearing behind said member.

"No-nothing! I-I meant is that y-you would be a-a great Master." The member spoke in fear.

Erza sighed and smiled "Good." She said causing people to sweatdrop.

"Look I know Laxus has made a few mistakes in the past but I think he's learned from his mistakes and is mature enough to take responsibility as Master." Makarov looked at Laxus.

"Old man." Laxus said teary-eyed but managed to hold back any tears that were threatening to come out "I promise to protect Fairy Tail with my life." he declared as he placed a fist over his heart.

"I know you will my boy. I entrust the legacy of our first Master onto you Laxus." Makarov began to walk away and stopped at the guild doors and lifted his right hand into the air while twisting it making it into an 'L' sign while the entire guild shouted Fairy Tale.

"Even if I can't see you... no matter how far away you may be... I will always be watching you." Makarov told the whole guild before walking out the door to begin his journey and many members began to cry.

Silence once again…

"Well you know since Laxus is our new guild Master * _hic_ *, you know what that calls for?" Cana yelled with red checks and a drunken smile plastered on her face.

" **A PARTY! ~** " The entire guild shouted, no longer crying and then Mirajane began to serve and pass people drinks, mainly beer and other alcoholic beverages to the mages of the guild as many of them congratulated Laxus on becoming Master.

"Congratulations on becoming Master, Laxus." Erza walked up Laxus.

"Yeah, thanks." Laxus grabbed two shots from the bar and handed one to Erza. "Cheers! TO FAIRY TAIL. LETS PARTY~! " Laxus yelled and the guild erupted in cheers.

Fairy Tail partied for many hours and the noise of the party could be heard in all of Magnolia but now the sun was setting and the party was coming to a stop when they felt an intense sudden drop in temperature making them all shudder and grabbing everyone's attention

All eyes then fell on Gray. "Glad I got your attention because I also have something I need to tell all of you."

"If you're going to try and do something cool, you might want to actually be wearing clothes." Laxus told Gray with a smirk 'You've gotten stronger, Gray'

"WHA~? WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN!?" Gray glanced down to discover him only wearing a pair of boxers and his necklace and began to frantically search for his clothes.

"Here are your clothes, Gray-sama. Juvia picked them up for you while you were stripping." Juvia handed Gray his clothes with a blush on her face.

Gray took his clothes and began to put them back on. "Thanks, Juvia. Wait! WHY ARE YOU JUST TELLING ME THIS NOW!?"

"Anyways, I'm going to go and train so I can learn how to use and control my Demon Slaying Magic. Juvia is also going to come with me." Gray informed the guild.

"Well, there is no reason for me to stop you." Laxus took a sip of beer and eyed Gray.

Gray and Juvia went up to Erza and Lucy and they began to say their goodbyes.

"So are you leaving today?" Lucy asked him, slightly dejected to see one of her closest friends leave the guild, even if it wasn't permanent.

"Yeah, me and Juvia already packed up and the train leaves in about an hour." He told them with a hint of remorse "Don't worry I'll be back before you know it!"

"Yeah! Don't worry Lucy-san, Juvia will make sure that Gray-sama stays safe." Juvia said with conviction and Lucy smiled and nodded.

Erza went up to Gray "How long will you be gone on this trip of yours?"

"I'm not really sure. Probably a year at most."

Erza suddenly pulled Gray into a bone-crushing hug causing him to yelp "I'll miss you, Gray." She spoke with sincerity catching Gray off guard.

"Y-Yeah, I-I'll mi-miss you too." Gray’s pained filled voice was muffled against Erza.

"See you, Lucy. See you, Erza. Oh, and tell flame for brains that when I get back I'm definitely going to kick his ass!" Gray stated proudly as he moved to hug Lucy and Juvia waved goodbye to Fairy Tail. Many of them began to tear up again as they did the same hand sign that Makarov had done earlier.

Lucy watched as Gray and Juvia left as sadness welled up inside of her. She turned her attention towards the redhead, and she saw an even deeper sadness than her own when she came in contact with her eyes as well as another emotion mixed in. Was it worry? She wasn't sure but she noticed Erza lately had been looking downcast, she would smile less often and would space out for long periods of time as if in deep thought.

"Erza, are you alright?" Lucy asked the with concern.

Erza caught Lucy's concern and forced a smile at her "Yeah, just a little bummed that Gray's leaving for a while."

"Oh." Lucy said doubtfully.

* * *

 

"So first Natsu seems to have left, then Master leaves, and now Gray and Juvia too?" Levy muttered softly mostly talking to herself.

"Yeah but Salamander just disappeared. At least they told us."

"What if someone kidnapped him!" Levy said in horror.

"Na, I doubt it. If someone wanted to kidnap Salamander, we'd know. Knowing him he'd at least would’ve started a fucking forest fire. That or the person had to be extremely powerful, stronger than Laxus to take him down without causing a scene."

Gajeel began to sniff around and went deeper into a forest until he found an old dirt trail that went up into the mountains and began to follow it with Levy a few steps behind.

"You sure it's this way Gajeel?" Levy asked nervously. The night was approaching, and she heard many sounds and rustling in bushes.

"Yeah, I'm positive. My nose never lies."

"Hey Gajeel, if you say you could smell that Natsu's scent wasn't strong enough for him to be in Magnolia, then does that mean that Wendy and Laxus also know since they both are Dragon Slayers?" Levy asked.

"Well, Laxus just woke up yesterday so I doubt that he's noticed and I mean Laxus isn’t relly a legit Dragon Slayer. As for Wendy, she's fairly young and her Dragon senses are still developing. She shouldn't be able to tell the small change in the strength of a scent yet."

"Now hurry up Shrimp, if ya fall behind too much I won't be able to see ya, and you'll get lost." Gajeel teased.

Levy turned red and began to hit Gajeel while screaming 'STUPID GAJEEL' although Gajeel seemed unaffected by the punches, he lifted her up by the back of her shirt to bring her face to face with him with only a few centimeters of distance between their faces making Levy's face get even redder like a tomato and made her go silent.

"You know Shrimp, if ya yell that loud, we're gonna get caught. Understand?" With that Levy only nodded, her face still red with embarrassment.

"Alright then, stay quiet. Look there it is." Gajeel pointed towards a rundown house made of wood and stone with many tree branches protruding from the walls of the house and a sign outside the read 'Natsu & Happy'.

"So this is Natsu's crib huh? It's actually in better shape than I thought." Gajeel said as they walked up to the front door and Gajeel began to sniff again.

"Good news Shrimp."

Levy was slightly irritated that he called Shrimp but decided to just drop it "What is it?"

"Well, it looks like Salamander probably only left three or four days ago." He sniffed again. "And it looks like I'm only picking up two other scents apart from Happy. One of them is Lucy's although faint, probably hasn't come by for a few weeks and the other is Erza's."

"Erza!?" Levy asked surprised at that revelation.

"Yeah, and it's strong. She was here not too long ago, a day or so." He added.

"What was Erza doing around here? I knew she was a bit worried. Do you think she was here to check up on Natsu?"

"Yeah most likely. She's worried about him, they're really close so it shouldn't come as a surprise." Gajeel knocked on the door. "HEY SALAMANDER, YOU THERE!?"

"No response." Levy said after a while of them waiting.

Gajeel then tried to open the door to only find it locked. He then checked the back door and the windows, they were all locked too and saw that the blinds were closed on all the windows.

"Now what are we going to do? We can't even see through the windows."

"Well we're gonna break-in, that's what." Gajeel began to walk towards the door.

"How!? You better not be thinking about breaking down his door!" Levy yelled at Gajeel already imagining him breaking into Natsu's house and making a mess of it.

Gajeel's only response was him pressing one finger against the keyhole. Levy watched in amazement as his finger turned into iron and began to seep inside the keyhole and Gajeel turned his finger * _click_ *. Gajeel turned the knob on the door and swung it wide open with a smirk on his face.

"GIHI." Gajeel laughed. "I don't just go about breaking things to solve any problem ya know."

"I know, that's not what I meant" Levy muttered. "WAIT! HOW'D YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO DO THAT!?" Levy screamed accusingly at Gajeel

Gajeel grew a tick mark on his forehead "KEEP IT DOWN WILL YA!?"

Levy quickly covered her mouth with her hands and mumbled a soft 'sorry' but then steeled herself and asked him again, although softer this time "Answer me Gajeel." Levy glared at him not wavering while keeping her eyes locked with his.

Gajeel * _tched*_ at this 'Man when she can be really scary when she wants to be' he thought "When I was younger, I had to whatever I could to survive." he answered bluntly.

"Oh. Gajeel… I'm sorry… I didn't know." Levy said with guilt evident in her voice 'First I tell him about the door and then, I basically began accusing him without knowing the whole story. He's probably angry at me now' Levy thought sadly.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't know." Gajeel said as he patted her on the head making her checks slowly turn red "Come on, let's see if we can find anything about where Natsu could be."

"Yeah. Let's go." Levy said with her cheeks still slightly red. She began to go over papers and the various books scattered around while Gajeel began to sniff around the house. She looked about the house and was surprised to see it fairly clean but then saw at the large stack of papers sitting on the coffee table in the living room and sighed 'This might take a while' she thought while picking up a stack of papers and began to go through them.

* * *

 

Erza was laying down on her bed, tightly hugging a white scaly patterned scarf close to her face and her chest. She didn't know what to do. Makarov's and Gray's departure had been hard on her. Her father figure left for who knows where, but Gray, one of her best friends along with Juvia had both left to go train, for possibly a whole year. Not only that, Natsu once again didn't show up to the guild which caused her extreme worry and disheartened her greatly. She was feeling more desolate than ever before and she hated it.

"Natsu, what's going on with you… " Erza muttered softly to herself as she buried her face even more into his scarf.

It had been days since she had last seen him, and uneasiness started to slowly creep up on her. Usually after a fight with an enemy that he would declare that Fairy Tale is the strongest and would go back to starting fights with Gray and the guild, challenging her and other S-Class mages to duels, and go on missions with her and the rest of Team Natsu as if nothing happened. She laid there drowning in her own thoughts.

She always loved that about him, his seemingly endless strength that she wished she had. She loved how he was the first to fight for his friends. She loved how he would always stand back up, and never give up, no matter how impossible the task seemed, even when she already had given up. She loved how he would always find a way and come off on top, even when she had already lost. She loved his courage and his willingness to challenge any opponent no matter how strong. She loved how he was the first to make her feel better when she was feeling down. She loved how his smile could always brighten her day. She loved how his voice could soothe her worries, even in the most desperate situations. She loved everything about him.

She loved… him.

She didn't know exactly when she came to this realization but the events that happened in The Tower of Heaven only seemed to confirm it for her. Seeing him go up against Jellal, watching him eat that Etherion Crystal and going into Dragon Force all just to protect her. She was astonished, she could do nothing but stare in awe at the reptilian scales adorning his face surrounding his beautiful golden-green slitted eyes.

She could do nothing but cry. She helplessly cried when she saw the man she used to love, and Natsu, the man she currently loved practically fight to the death. Even then, she didn't hesitate to try and sacrifice her life to try and save her friends. She remembered being pulled out from the Tower and being carried out in his arms. Once again, he had saved her life. He had saved her life and she would never forget it. She would never be able to repay him for what he had done for her…. It was too much.

Honestly, she had lost track of how many times he had saved her and the guild. He had not backed down against Acnologia, even if everyone knew it was futile. He had not backed down against Zero, Grimoire Heart, Sabretooth, Future Rouge, and against the Dragons.

But this time it was different. She could tell when they meet eye to eye… his eyes were different… he was… different.

_ FLASHBACK _

Erza was limping through the debris with a sword in one hand that she used as a support cane. She didn't know how long she had been walking. She was heavily injured after her fight with Kyouka and pain shot through her body with every step that she took.

She kept going, pushing past the searing pain and her body's pleas until she came to a clearing and saw a massive crater. Her eyes widened when she saw a man with pink hair standing in the middle of said crater. Seeing him she started limping a little faster until she was standing a few meters behind him.

"Natsu… Good, I've finally found you." Erza said panting before she collapsed on the ground taking deep breaths

"… " Natsu stayed silent as if he never heard her. He just kept staring down at the crater and as she got a few feet behind him she felt a dark energy coming off of him but as quick as it came, it left.

'What was that just now?' She stopped in a cold sweat "Natsu?" She called out, worried.

He stayed silent and made no movements. She looked at his shoulders and noticed that he was very stiff. She looked at his hands and noticed his fists were clenched, drawing blood. The blood ran along his knuckles, dripping on the ground.

Suddenly he turned around to look on her. His clothes were tattered and he was covered in cuts, bruises, dirt, and blood. Lots of blood. Then she saw anger she had never seen once on his face. It was there for only a second before disappearing completely. He ran up to her and picked her up bridal style and looked down at her battered body.

"I'm glad you're alright, Erza." Natsu whispered softly but she still managed to hear him.

Being held tightly against his chest she couldn't help but blush, although she didn't say anything in fear she might begin to stutter out words. So she did the next best thing and nodded. He locked his eyes with hers and she noticed how red they were.

'Natsu… were you crying?' She had never seen him cry even when he thought that Lisanna had died. 'What happened?' She thought

"Are you… alright?" She asked him. "Please... tell me what happened… Natsu." She pleaded with him, never breaking eye contact and gripping his vest softly.

Natsu hesitated before answering. "I… I'm alright… I'm alright Erza." he began to walk away from the crater "My dad… he-he's gone." his voiced cracked "A-And this time… f-for go-good." A lone tear slipped from his left eye and then another from his right one.

He shut his eyes in an attempt to try and stop the tears but failing as they began cascading down his face with no sign of stopping. He stopped and collapsed on his knees with Erza being placed on the ground as his head loomed over her body.

Erza felt something warm and wet hit her face as her heart clenched and tears began to well in her eyes. She watched the man she loved having an emotional breakdown. She brought her hand up to his face and shakily began to wipe his tears while profusely apologizing over and over again.

"N-Natsu… I-I'm… sorry… I'm… s-so s-sorry." Erza stuttered out her wavering voice as she kept on wiping his tears away.

"Why… w-why do-does everyone… l-leave… me? M-My par-parents and-and n-now… Igneel… " Natsu said in between sobs.

Now it was Erza's turn to begin to cry. "I-I'll n-never le-leave y-you… ever… Natsu… "

Hearing her words, Natsu's eyes widened. "Erza… " he stared deeply into her eyes and began to move his head closer to hers.

Erza stared into his eyes as well and began to blush intensely. "Natsu… " Erza whispered and began to move her head closer to his until their lips met in a heated kiss. She wrapped her arms around his head while he placed one hand on her back, and another on her waist.

It was her first kiss and she would never forget it. She didn't know how long they kissed but she loved every second of it. Erza's entire face was red, her body was hot, she couldn't think straight, and her eyes were clouded with lust. Finally, they pulled apart, leaving a string of saliva connected between their lips and that's when her eye's met golden green slitted eyes.

"Natsu… Natsu… I… I lo-… I… " Feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion, Erza fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

 

'Where am I? What's going on?' Erza thought as she was being pulled into consciousness.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she was met with a blinding light. She blinked several times to try to adjust to light as she slowly began to take in her surroundings. She was lying down on a bed wearing a white gown, with an orange blanket while she was covered in bandages. Looking over the room she noticed that the walls seemed to made out of a tree, many plants decorated the walls, and many books and potions were sitting on shelves.

'I must be in Porlyusica's home. Haven't been here since she gave me my new eye'

"Glad you're finally awake. You had me worried for a second." Erza turned her head to the side to see none other than Porlyusica. She was turned around and by the looks of it, she was mixing some sort of potion in a round glass bottle.

"How long was I out for?" Erza asked while holding her head as she propped herself up on her elbows.

"Three days." Porlyusica answered as she added a strange black liquid from a glass vile to the potion. "Wendy and I healed your wounds, so you should be fine… but Erza… I wanted to talk to you about… about Natsu."

"Natsu… " Erza muttered as she began remembering what had happened before she had lost consciousness and began to turn a dark shade of red. She silently thanked that Porlyusica had her back turned so she couldn't see her.

Porlyusica kept adding different liquids to the potion "I think that something may be wrong with him."

"Wrong? What do you mean?" Erza asked worriedly.

"Yes… he's fine… but… " Porlyusica trailed, sprinkling ingredients into the bottle.

"But? What's wrong? Tell me." Erza demanded and Porlyusica knew that she wasn't going to let up.

Porlyusica sighed "Alright, I noticed something off with Natsu… when he came to ask me to heal you."

'So Natsu was the one that brought me to Porlyusica.'

"When he came I immediately sensed an impurity around him… something dark, something… not human." She admitted. "Did you notice anything like that with him?"

Erza's eyes widened in fear "Actually… when I found him… after we had defeated Tartaros" she paused "I felt… something coming off of him. I don't know what it was but… it was only for a second." She argued.

"Well, it may have only been some demonic energy. He was exposed to curses after all." She said, spinning the potion in her hand before placing a cork on it. She turned around with the potion in her hand, walking towards Erza. She stopped in front of her with her hand outstretched handing her the strange bottle.

"What is this?" Erza asked taking the black bottle in her hand, getting off the bed and requiped into a tight, white tank top that hugged her body in all the right places, a black miniskirt with a large black belt, and lace up, knee length black boots.

"It's a potion that should get rid of demonic residue. Give it to Natsu, it should get rid of it before it starts to cause any damage."

'Natsu… I hope you're okay.' She thought.

"Oh, and make sure that idiot drinks all of it." The healer instructed Erza.

"I will. Thank you Porlyusica. I'll be on my way now."

"Good riddance! I hate humans! GET OUT! NOW!" Porlyusica chased Erza out of her house with a broom and Erza left in search for Natsu.

* * *

 

"Natsu open up. It's me Erza, we need to talk." Erza said firmly as she knocked on Natsu's front door. She took a look at the sky and noticed how late it was. The sun had already set and she could see many stars littering the sky 'It's pretty late, he should be home by now.'

She knocked again. "Natsu, open the door this instant." She called in a commanding tone. 'He has to be here, I checked everywhere; the river where he fishes, and both of Lisanna's graves, where the guild used to be, and even… Lucy's house.' She thought with a hint of jealousy at the mention of Lucy's house.

'Why does he always go over to Lucy's? Could it be that… no-no. I-I mean me and Natsu… k-kissed so what does that make us? Could this be why he's not answering? Does he… regret it? What do I do? What do I say?' All these questions popped up inside Erza's head.

Erza was then taken out of her thoughts by a voice and a hand resting on her shoulder. "Hey Erza, you alright? I called your name like five times."

Erza recognized that voice anywhere and froze. "Hey, Erza!" then before she knew it she was spun around to come face to face with Natsu.

"N-Na-Natsu I-I… um I… " Erza stuttered out losing all traces of her calm and usually self "I c-came to give y-you this!" She held out the potion in her hands.

Natsu looked a little confused. "What is this? Alcohol?" He took the cork off and smelled it. He narrowed his eyes. "Who gave this to you?"

"Porlyusica gave it me today when I woke up. She told me to give this to you and make sure that you drink it. She believes that you were exposed to demonic residue and this should cleanse you before they start to cause harm." Erza informed him. "And… thank you, Natsu… for taking me to Porlyusica."

"Oh… is that so?" He then began to drink the potion until the bottle was empty and then a few seconds later he began hacking and coughing uncontrollably. " *** _ACK, HACK, COUGH, COUGH, HACK_ ***" Natsu fell to his knees as he hacked and coughed until a black and red liquid dripped from his mouth.

" **NATSU! NATSU! WHAT'S WRONG!?** **"** Erza began to panic when she saw him start to cough up the strange liquid and what looked to be blood. She rushed to his side and put her hands on his shoulders. "NATSU!" She kept calling over and over.

'What's going on!? Wasn't that supposed to help him!?'

After a few minutes of Natsu hacking out the mysterious liquid, he was on his knees panting. His arms were on the ground for support and a puddle of black and red liquid was on the ground between his hands.

Natsu spat on the ground. "Hah… hah… I'm… okay… hah." He said in between breaths as he stood up "What the… hah… fuck was that? You trying to kill me… hah… Erza?"

"N-Natsu I'm so so-sorry! Thank god you're okay!" Erza pulled Natsu into a hug causing him to yell out a yelp as his face was smothered into her breasts. They stayed that way for quite a while until she looked down and realized just where she was crushing Natsu with her face turned a deep shade of red.

She quickly pushed Natsu off of her. "I-I… Natsu you…  _pervert_." She softly muttered that last part as she turned her head away from him.

'How am I the pervert?' Natsu sighed. "Anyways, Thanks for bringing me that potion." He gestured at the strange liquid. "I'm guessing that must have been the demonic residue."

"I'm just glad that it managed to get that accursed residue out of your system. Those dammed demons and Zeref have ruined enough lives already." Erza spoke with malice. "I want nothing to do with Zeref or any of his filthy demons."

Natsu turned his back towards Erza as his hair shadowed his eyes. "Hey Erza, do you think that all demons are evil?" He asked in a monotone voice causing Erza to lift an eyebrow.

"Natsu, all demons are evil and vile. They're atrocious abominations that were created out of darkness. They’ve killed thousands of innocent lives including Gray's parents. They caused havoc over four hundred years ago, and now they're back. They are something that should have never existed. It wasn’t intended in nature. They’re simply a creation of man that should’ve never been allowed." She paused for a moment as she saw that Natsu had not moved.

Suddenly Natsu spoke up, and in the same emotionless. "What about END? What do you think about him?" He starred at the sky.

Erza was growing confused with his unusual behavior but answered his question anyway. "Atlas flame said it was Zeref's vilest demon, and according to Levy, it was his strongest. Apparently, E.N.D’s strength far surpassed Deliora’s and Lullaby’s. E.N.D., the creator and guild master of Tartaros, the most horrendous dark guild to ever exist. A demon so evil that the Dragons came out of hiding just to stop his resurrection." She spoke as she kept looking at Natsu's back "I think END is an evil… an evil that should be rid of from this world."

Natsu stayed silent.

"Why do you ask… Natsu?" Erza apprehensively began to walk towards his side.

He turned his head towards her and smiled. "No reason, just curious is all."

She looked up at the starry night. "Oh…I see. Well... it's getting pretty late. I'll be on my way. Bye Natsu." Just as Erza was about to leave she felt something grab her arm, pulling her in as she felt something hot press against her forehead. Erza blushed furiously when she realized that Natsu had kissed her on her forehead.

"N-Na-Natsu… I-I-I… w-w-what… I-I…" Erza stammered out, unable to form a proper sentence.

Natsu saw this and placed a finger on her lips which only caused her to blush even harder. " _Shhhh_." He said moving his head closer to hers. Erza noticed what he was doing and leaned into the kiss, placing her hands on his chest as her blush turned a deep shade of crimson, rivaling that of her hair.

'Natsu… ' She thought as they shared a chaste kiss, it was short and sweet but it conveyed the love they had for each other.

Suddenly Natsu's eyes turned golden green with his pupil becoming a black slit and a small scale like pattern spread across his face, surrounding his eyes. He then opened his mouth, exposing his larger than usual canines, sinking them deep into the left crook of her neck, drawing blood causing it to spill out the sides of his mouth and drip down onto her chest. Surprised and totally caught off guard.

Erza yelped in pain. "OW~! Natsu~." She moaned feeling something warm flood her, numbing her entire body in pleasure. Natsu began sucking on the spot he bit down before lapping up the remaining blood and kissing it while Erza moaned out his name.

"W-What? N-Natsu w-what… a-are… you d-do-doing?" Moaned out, the still blushing redhead.

"I marked you Erza. You're mine now." Natsu whispered into her ear causing her to shiver in response.

"M-Marked?" Erza squeaked, bringing her hand up to touch crook of her neck where Natsu marked her. It was hot to the rouch and stung.

"Yeah, It's Dragon tradition. You're my mate now." Natsu gripped her waist possessively.

Erza's head began to be filled with dirty thoughts. "M-M-Mate!? D-Does that m-mean… w-we… we're g-going t-to do… p-per-perverted… th-things?" Erza whispered, pushing her index fingers together, staring at the ground.

When she looked up she saw Natsu's Dragon features starting to vanish. His eyes returned to their normal onyx, his fangs shrank down back to their normal size, and the scales surrounding his eyes slowly disappeared.

Natsu ignoring her previous question began to unravel his scarf from around his neck, and wrapping it around Erza's, making sure to cover his love bite.

“Here, take it.”

Erza began to protest "Natsu… your scarf… I can't… "

"It's getting dark and cold. The road ahead of you is only going to get colder from here on out… Erza. You're gonna need it more than me."

Erza gazed at Natsu lovingly as he let go of her and secured his scarf around her neck, allowing his scent to waft towards her nose. 'Firewood' She thought as she took in his scent, filling her with a warmth she couldn't describe.

"W-We still need to talk about… u-us… N-Natsu… but it's getting late so… we-we'll t-talk about it l-later." Erza stuttered out to which she mentally cursed herself. 'Dammit get a grip, Erza! It's your fault that I act this way around you... Natsu.'

"Good Night, Natsu." Erza managed to sound composed.

"Goodbye… Erza." Natsu spoke ominously.

Erza took one last glace at Natsu before she started to walk back to her apartment in Fairy Hills. As she was walking to her apartment that night, Erza felt a sickening knot in her stomach, as if something terrible was about to take place.

_ FLASHBACK END _

That was the last time she had talked to Natsu. That was the last time she had seen… Natsu. She brought her hand up to touch her neck, revealing a tattoo of two 'S' shaped, red and black dragons that crossed over each other and a shining steel sword in between them.

'Natsu… what's going on with you?' And with that one final thought, Erza fell asleep, still hugging his scarf close to her chest.


	2. Gone With The Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone, I'm back with a second chapter of the series. I decided to introduce a few countries from Ishgar that never seem to get mentioned and thought it would be fun to introduce them here. I have yet to see a single Fan-fiction to explore this so I thought why not.

"Hey, you find anything?" Gajeel asked as he walked in the living room. Levy was sitting on the couch hunched over the coffee table sorting and looking over the various papers scattered about.

"Just a whole bunch of newspapers and jobs about dragon sightings." Levy answered as she placed a newspaper she had finished reading on the table. "You think he was looking for something before he left?"

"Who knows, but you know that weird black liquid you found. It's mixed with blood and it smells…tainted. I put some in a container so we can take it to Porlyusica and find out what it is. Also, take a look at this book I found in Natsu's room. It's written in a strange language though. Smells really old too." Gajeel extended his hand with the book towards Levy.

Taking the book in her hands Levy began to inspect it. Gajeel was right, the book was really old. The cover was made out of dark brown leather and had strange letters written on it and a black pentagram surrounded my mysterious marking just below the strange words. It was covered in starches and parts of the leather were peeled or ripped off. The spine and pages were held together by thick black leather strings going through them. The pages looked to be made out of thick and rough paper, their color having faded to a yellowish brown one.

Opening the book, Levy flipped through the pages with an intense and concentrated look on her face. "Hmmm…I've never seen this language before but I do recognize some of the symbols and letters here." Levy began to mutter to herself flipping back and forth between pages enthralled by the book.

"So~ can you translate whatever is in this book?"

"I'm not sure. The letters look like Tsuni. Maybe Shia? But if that was the case." Gajeel listened carefully, nodding his head every now and then.

"Unless…"

"Unless?"

"Unless this was written in a parent language. The parent language of Tsuni!"

"Uh, parent language?" Gajeel asked having no idea what Levy was talking about.

"Parent languages are basically languages from which other languages are derived from. So put simply, it's a language from which other languages are born from."

"And that language would be?" Gajeel asked curiously.

"That I don't actually know." Levy admitted glumly "Although I can try and make out as much as I can being that it's a close language to both Shia and Tsuni." Levy said as she put on her magic reading glasses and began to read the book at a record fast rate using her Solid Script Magic to decipher and translate as much as she could.

"Still, why would Salamander have a book written in a lost language. That guy barely knows English let whatever that is." Gajeel wondered aloud as Levy continued to read the book.

"I don't know Gajeel but…I have a feeling that this book and whatever's inside played a big role in why Natsu left Magnolia." Levy said seriously as a bead of sweat ran down the side of her face.

"What do you mean?" Gajeel turned to look at Levy and saw that she had stopped reading. Her eyes glued to a certain page in the book.

"Right here on this page and all throughout this book, there are two words, two names I should say written in English. Zeref, and END." Levy turned the book to Gajeel and showed him the page.

Gajeel looked at the page and sighed "Well shit now what do we do? We have this fucking weird looking black shit and a book we can't even read."

"We go and tell Laxus. Then we tell the guild." Levy said as she walked out of Natsu's house with Gajeel following right behind her.

* * *

_**THE MORNING AFTER** _

"This is bad." Porlyusica said as she inspected the black liquid under a microscope "Did the potion now work?"

"What are you talking about? What potion?" Levy asked curiously.

Porlyusica sighed "It was supposed to remove any demonic residue from inside Natsu. When Erza brought him in I detected a lingering presence, residue from fighting the demons and I gave Erza the potion and told her to make sure that Natsu drank it." She paused "This potion was simply supposed to remove any demonic residue but for whatever reason, it seems like Natsu's body rejected the potion."

"What does that mean?" Gajeel asked the healer.

Porlyusica suddenly turned around "I wish I knew. I think most likely the potion was too strong for the amount of residue in his body so he rejected it because it was causing him harm. Explains the blood."

"Yeah, but was Natsu acting weird or did he say anything strange to you?" Levy asked.

"…No, he…I didn't notice anything like that" Porlyusica reluctantly answered.

Gajeel and Levy looked at each other slightly unsure of what to make of her response "Okay thanks for your help Porlyusica" Levy said as she left with Gajeel in tow.

Porlyusica stared at the black liquid. "It couldn't be..could it…Natsu?"

* * *

_**THE NEXT DAY** _

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Laxus spoke with his back turned into a communication lacrima.

"This is the only option I have and it's our best shot."

*Knock Knock* "Hey Laxus, it's Gajeel. We need to talk. It's important."

"Someone's at the door. Just be careful. Get back to me as soon as you can." Laxus quickly whispered and turned off the lacrima before opening the door. On the other side of the door was Gajeel with Levy standing behind him holding a book and looked really concerned. "What do you guys want? I'm a little busy right now."

"Yeah well, this can't wait. I'm just gonna say it, Natsu left." Gajeel said nonchalantly and crossed his arms.

"Gajeel!" Levy softly yelled at Gajeel.

Laxus looked at Gajeel for a few seconds "What do you mean he left?"

"We mean he's gone. Probably been gone for a few days."

Laxus turned to Levy and asked "Is this true? This doesn't make any sense why would Natsu leave?"

Levy nodded "It's true and we also found this too." Levy said as she handed him the book she was carrying around.

"What's this? An old book?" Laxus asked as he grabbed the book.

"Not just any old book. We found it in Natsu's house and the book mentions Zeref and END. It's most likely why he left."

Laxus opened the book flipping through the pages "Levy can you translate this?"

Levy then looked a little sad and sighed "No. It's written in a language I've never seen before and I've seen many languages but not this one…although they look similar to Tsuni and Shia." Levy explained.

Closing the book Laxus smiled "I've seen this language before. On a quest in Desierto, I stumbled upon an Alchemist there. He was writing a book with these exact same symbols."

"There is someone who knows this language!? I might be able to translate it after all! In Desierto!? Isn't that another country in the south!?" Levy said excited she might to able to learn a language unknown to her.

"Yeah, but we also need to look for Salamander. Laxus, we need to put together a search party to look for him."

"Are you sure he wasn't kidnapped?"

"Knowing him the whole town would've known but maybe something else is at play because even I don't know why Salamander would just up and leave."

Laxus looked at Gajeel and Levy and sighed "Damn Natsu. Alright, gather the guild we got ourselves a dragon to find."

* * *

_**A FEW HOURS LATER** _

Erza was walking up the stairs of the guild hall to the second floor 'I wonder what Laxus wants…calling me up to his office.' She thought as she reached the door and went inside only to be surprised at seeing how many people were already in his office.

"Glad you could join us, Erza" Laxus called out as Erza shut the door.

"What's going on here Laxus? Why are there so many people?" Erza asked clearly confused at what was going on.

In the room was Laxus, Wendy, Mirajane, Cana, Elfman, Lisanna, Levy, Lucy, Gajeel and now Erza standing side by side in front of Laxus.

"I'll get to that right away seeing as how we were waiting for you to arrive." Laxus said as he took a seat behind his desk "Now that we're all here, some information regarding Natsu has just been brought to my attention. Now you all know that Natsu has not shown up to Guild at all right?"

"Yeah" Everybody nodded and Erza held a concerned expression.

"Well, Thanks to Gajeel and Levy going to Natsu's House, Gajeel is almost certain that Natsu's gone." Laxus calmly spoke make Erza's eyes to widen.

"Gone!? What do you mean Laxus?" Mirajane asked.

Lucy turned to Levy. "What did you guys find in Natsu's house?"

"What he means is that Natsu's missing. We don't know where is he is but I sure as hell know he ain't in Magnolia." Gajeel interrupted before clearing up a few things. "When Levy and I went to Natsu's house I could tell that Natsu hadn't been there for days."

"And how do you know that?" Cana asked to which Gajeel just pointed at his nose answering her question. "Oh, right."

"So was Natsu kidnapped? I mean why else would he disappear?" Lisanna asked beginning to worry Natsu had been kidnapped.

"GETTING KIDNAPPED IS NOT A MAN!" Elfman yelled causing everyone to get annoyed and glared at him especially Mirajane causing him to shut up immediately.

"I don't think Salamander was Kidnapped. I think he left. To where and why? I have no clue but there were no signs of a fight and I didn't pick up any unfamiliar scents either. I'm not saying he wasn't but knowing him I doubt it." Gajeel explained.

"Natsu-san…" Wendy began to tear up that her 'older brother' was no longer there "W-Why…he's g-gone?" Wendy was about to start crying causing Lucy to go up to her to comfort her.

"Don't cry, Wendy. We'll find Natsu, I promise!" Lucy reassured her before hugging the small mage.

"Okay." Wendy said as she regained her composure.

Levy then pulled out the Book they found in Natsu's home and showed it to them and began to explain everything they had told Laxus.

"So you're thinking that whatever is in this book may be the reason to why Natsu left?" Mirajane asked, wondering as to what could be in the book.

"Natsu… wouldn't just leave like that. I don't believe it. Why would he do that?" Erza, who had stayed quiet throughout the entire time suddenly spoke up, getting everyone's attention.

Mirajane looked at Erza who had her head down, her hands clenched to her side and was shaking ever so slightly. She could tell she was getting emotional since she knew that Erza held feelings for the dragon slayer.

"Erza…"

Gajeel knew about Erza had been marked by Natsu and knew just how hard it would be to control that woman when she found out about Natsu. How did he know? Her scent changed if ever so slightly more like Natsu's and he knew from his Dragon's instincts what that meant. "We are gonna go and look for Natsu to the East. That's the direction his scent was leading off so he's probably going somewhere in that direction. You know he didn't ride any trains or none of that so he couldn't have gotten far."

"Then let's stop wasting time. We leave in one hour. Everybody get your things and meet back here immediately." Erza said in a commanding tone.

"Yes!" Elfman proceeded to walk out.

"Yes, ma'am!" Lucy and Lisanna said in unison as they ran to go pack.

"Yeah-yeah, me and Levy are already one step ahead of you." Gajeel pointed to their bags already packed on the floor next to them.

"Y-Yes Erza-san!" Wendy also left with Cana right behind her.

"Man what a pain that Natsu is. I need a drink." Cana muttered closing the door as she left.

"I already informed Gray and Juvia and they said they haven't seen Natsu but they'll search and keep an eye out for him in Iceberg. They doubt Natsu would cross into that country as it tends to be cooler than Natsu's liking. I also contacted the Thunder Tribe. They were in Bosco for a mission but Freed will be heading to Joya."

"Who's to say Natsu's even that far? Why would he LEAVE and go that far without telling us!?" Erza was beginning to get mad "For what reason!?"

"Because I think something's in the book that made Natsu leave. But any chance of translating it would be to go to Desierto but right now Desierto is going through a bloody civil war and it's incredibly dangerous. That's why I want you to meet up with Freed in Joya and figure out what to do from there." Laxus paused "That and… Porlyusica thinks there's something's inside Natsu causing him to act this way." Laxus explained.

Hearing that Erza remembered what Porlyusica had told her about the demonic particles she found inside Natsu. She remembered him hacking up blood and the black liquid and most importantly she remembered what Natsu had told her the last time she saw him.

_**FLASHBACK- Chapter 1** _

"It's getting dark and cold. The road of ahead of you is going only going to get colder from here on out… Erza. You're gonna need it more than me."

Erza gazed at Natsu lovingly as he let go of her and secured his scarf around her neck, allowing his scent to waft towards her nose. 'Firewood' She thought as she took in his scent, filling her with a warmth she couldn't describe.

"W-We still need to talk about… u-us… N-Natsu… but it's getting late so… we-we'll t-talk about it l-later." Erza stuttered out to which she mentally cursed herself 'Dammit get a grip, Erza! It's your fault that I act this way around you... Natsu.'

"Good Night, Natsu." Erza managed to sound composed.

"Goodbye… Erza." Natsu spoke ominously.

_**FLASHBACK - END**_ "

He gave me his…scarf." Erza whispered.

"The way he spoke…he didn't say goodnight…he said goodbye…he was saying…goodbye." Erza continued, looking and sounding emotionless.

That day right after Natsu left she felt a knot in her stomach as if something bad was about to happen. Now she knew why. Natsu had left that very same day and she had no idea where or why. 'It's all because of those stupid particles! God damn Tartaros!' Erza seething just thinking about Zeref and his accursed demons.

Levy seeing Erza like this went up to her and asked "Erza what's going on? What are you talking about?"

Erza turned to look at them and said "Natsu told me goodbye…the day he left. He left on his own."

* * *

Once everyone had returned packed and ready to go they set out to Magnolia Train Station and bought tickets for Bosco. Now they were all seated on the train waiting for the driver to announce departure.

"Wendy thanks for casting Troia. I don't think I'd be able to survive if it wasn't for you."

"No problem Gajeel."

"So what's the plan Gajeel?" Erza asked sitting across from Gajeel.

"We're taking the train as far as we can until we reach Joya since they don't have trains and are covered in mountains we'll have to ride a carriage. There we'll head to the capital, Joy and meet the Thunder Tribe and go from there."

"We should stop every now and then to see if you can pick up Natsu's scent." Erza added.

"Yeah, we'll stop a few times in between countries to gather information."

"How long is this ride going to be?" Cana took a drink of some sort of alcohol she got from the bar on the train.

Mirajane sighed "Already drinking Cana?"

Gajeel smirked "I'd get pretty comfortable. This is gonna be a few weeks."

* * *

_**ONE WEEK LATER** _

"This is as far as I can take you. Beyond that Gate is Joya." An old man driving a carriage pointed towards a Gate with an entrance and exit that was guarded by several men.

"Thanks old man, how much?" Gajeel asked as he got off the carriage with the rest following suit.

"That'd be 90,000 Jewels. 10,000 per person." The old man said as Gajeel took out the money and handed it to him.

"Just a word of advice if you're headed to Desierto. Tell the guards and they should be able to help you get there as safely as possible." The old man told Gajeel before heading off in the opposite direction while all the Fairy Tail members walked to the Gate.

"XXXXXXX" The guard spoke in a foreign language.

"Uhh~"

"State your business here in Joya." The guard spoke this time in English.

"We're only passing through. We need to get to Desierto." Erza walked up to the guards and showed them her Fairy Tail mark.

"Desierto? What on earth are Fairy Tail Mages looking to go to Desierto for? That place is a hellhole right now."

"We are searching for something of great importance. Is there any way you can help us get across the border safely?"

The guards looked at each other and nodded "The Capital. They can help. Take then the main path it leads right to Joy."

Erza thanked the guards and proceeded to cross into Joya. They walked for miles and now saw how truly different this country was compared to their own. It was hotter, dryer, and stones everywhere. The path they had been walking on cracked dirt and rock. Boulders littered the terrain with very little trees or plants. Surrounded by mountains in every direction with a small steam or water every now and then. Along the way, they crossed many small towns. The houses were beautiful and seemed to be made out of a stone of various colors, shapes, and sizes. The people they met were very helpful and although they spoke a very different language many understood and Spoke English.

* * *

_**ANOTHER WEEK LATER** _

It had taken one week for the team to make it to Joy. The rugged and mountainous terrain and the country's lack of major railroads made it much harder to travel with most travel having to be done by walking or carriage. As they crossed the Gates into Joy, the city was larger than Magnolia but smaller than Crocus. It made sense since Fiore was a much richer country. Still, the stone city was large and impressive with ancient buildings and architecture somehow still standing.

"This is amazing! Just look at how old all these buildings are! They must date back hundreds of years!" Levy squealed as she looked at the large building in front of her.

"Yeah, it's incredible." Mirajane said as she too admired the building.

The building was tall and made out of white stone. Gold trim surrounded the building making it stand out among the rest with points sticking from the top and a large flag of the country waving in the wind.

"This is where they should be. Laxus said that Freed was with him on the mission and knows where to go to find the Alchemist."

"They better be here. God knows how long it took us to get here." Gajeel walked up to the building but was stopped by Guards.

"Identify yourselves foreigners."

"We're Wizards from Fiore. We are looking for Freed and the Thunder Tribe." Lucy showed them her guild mark.

"Fairy Tail Wizards. Yes, come this way."

The guards lead them inside into a very large room with an oval desk in the middle. Standing behind the desk was a man with a large beard and a black hat with black and gray cloak that seemed to be almost of royal status.

"Welcome to Joy. My country's capital. I'm King Albarro. Fairy Tail I've been expecting you. Freed has filled me in on the details." The man spoke with a noticeable accent. It seemed most everyone could speak their language although with an accent just like most everyone they met in Joya.

Then the door swung open and in walked Freed "So I hear you're trying to cross into Desierto. Can't say that's a wise choice. That country's in utter chaos right now."

"Well we heard you and Laxus meet an Alchemist there that could translate this book." Gajeel said.

"Oh yes, the book. Let me see it."

Levy took the book out her bag and handed it to Freed "Well this is certainly interesting. You said this was in Natsu's house? Why would Natsu have a book over 300 years old written in Sanskrit?"

"Sanskrit!? Freed you know the language!" Levy shouted in surprise.

"Yeah, you didn't think I wouldn't have taken notes when I saw the Alchemist did you?"

"Does that mean you can translate it?" Erza asked.

"Maybe, I can give it a try but no promises." Freed said as he set the book down on top of a table and began to take use his magic to translate the book.

"I can help." Levy said as she came up to help Freed.

"I can help too." Lucy said as she took out her glasses and began reading through a stack of pages Freed had taken out of notes.

* * *

_**A FEW HOURS LATER** _

Night was beginning to fall and they were escorted to guest rooms. As it turned out Freed was on a mission assigned to him by the King of Joya himself to translate an ancient stone tablet found in a ruin close to Desierto. Even though Freed was familiar with the language to a degree, translation was proving difficult. Not only that but the contents it seemed were encoded with magic and that left much work to be done and after a few more hours of nonstop work they finally managed to translate a small piece and what they found was truly shocking.

"Gajeel!" Levy ran into the hallway screaming and banged on their doors " Open up! You won't believe this!"

"What's with all the ruckus?" Gajeel said yawning wearing nothing but boxers.

Levy looked down at Gajeel and her cheeks turned a little red 'This isn't the time' she thought. "Gajeel! Why are you only in your boxers!? You know what never mind! We're finally done! You won't believe this!"

"Shouldn't we tell the rest?" He asked as he was about to knock on Erza's room.

"Come on! I want to show you first."

"No way…" Gajeel started at the book not believing his eyes. "END is…human?" He whispered as he turned to look at Levy "Wasn't he Zeref's greatest demon as in not human?" Gajeel asked confused.

"Well, technically he's a demon created using the vessel of a human." Levy tried to make sense of the concept but was struggling since that was all she was able to translate from that page.

"Gajeel this could be his notes about the past, or even a diary or a memoir written by Zeref himself!"

If in fact, it was true that Zeref had written that book Gajeel wouldn't be surprised. He could sense the evil magic emanating from the book. "Does anyone know about this? Freed?"

"No, he left for something important with the King before we could finish. Only you and I know at this point."

"Gather everyone here tomorrow. We'll go over this then and hopefully, it can tell us where Natsu might be or why he's gone." Gajeel grabbed the book and began to read over it.

"I will."

"But whatever we find out you can be assured that somehow Zeref's involved. We gotta be careful because we might not be so lucky this time around."

Levy slowly nodded "Yeah."

* * *

"Ahhh~ just what I needed." Cana stretched her hands behind her head as she laid back under the water against the rocks of the hot springs. Steam surrounded the bath hiding her naked form as she closed her eyes and relaxed.

A few minutes passed of peace and quiet until the door opened and in stepped a naked Mirajane with Erza behind her with a towel wrapped around her body.

"Hey, Cana you still here? It's pretty late. We thought that it would be empty." Mirajane said with a smile.

"Yeah well, same. That's why I'm here. Anyways what are you waiting for? This feels amazing~." Cana invited.

Mira quickly got in and let out a sigh while Erza blushed a little hesitant to take off her towel. She turned around, dropped her towel and quickly jumped into the bath which caused Cana to raise an eyebrow.

"Hey what's up with you Erza? We've bathed before so don't tell me you're embarrassed, are you?" Cana smirked as she began to eye Erza.

"Oh, nothing…it's nothing." Erza said as she tried to hide her front not turning to look at them.

Mira was now curious about why Erza was acting weird "Turn around and look at us Erza. What's Wong?"

Erza kept silent and put her hand up to cover her left breast and shook her head.

Cana and Mira looked at each other and gave smiled. Suddenly both Mira and Cana jumped on Erza trying to turn her around. She screamed and put her hands on her breast not letting them take it off.

"No! Ahh! Don't! No!"

"Come on Erza! What are you hiding!?"

Cana and Mirajane struggled with the redhead until they finally managed to take her hands off her breast exposing a dragon tattoo of sorts.

"Huh, what's this?" Cana touched the strange mark feeling a strange heat when she touched it.

"No…it's just a tattoo. I got it because I thought it looked nice." Erza said clearly embarrassed with the two of them staring so intensely at her chest.

"This isn't a tattoo is it Erza?" Mirajane stated more than asked "I feel a powerful energy coming off of whatever that is. My senses don't lie to me and I don't want you to lie to me either."

"Yeah was is it Erza, it's really hot." Cana added also wanting to know.

Erza knew she was in a bind but she didn't want to tell them how she got that mark. She didn't want to tell them that Natsu gave her that mark, that Natsu had marked her as his. She honestly didn't even know what it was. She just knew that it would appear and disappear every now and then. It first showed up on her neck but it slowly moved it way over above her heart on her left breast. She didn't want to tell them but she couldn't think of anything.

"Well Erza, we're waiting." Mira said getting impatient.

Her blush grew and she finally admitted "Natsu…"

"What? Did you say Natsu?" Cana asked and Erza nodded.

"Could it be…Erza did Natsu mark you?" Mira asked completely surprised.

"…Yeah" She whispered softly. "What am I going to do? H-He's gone. He…left me."

Erza began to cry and put her hand on the mark "I-I can feel it fading."

While Cana was completely taken by the revelation, Mira wasn't as shocked. She had seen the way Erza looked at Natsu, the way she talked about him, and her concern for him. She had a hunch but now it was confirmed. Seeing Erza cry Mira truly realized how hard this was for her.

"Erza…do you love Natsu?" Mira asked the crying redhead.

*sniff, sniff* Erza nodded as she wiped her tears trying to stop crying "I-I do."

Cana looked on still shocked at the revelation "So wait then what's the tattoo?" She asked still confused about what's going on.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure but I think I heard Gajeel talk about some sort of Dragon ritual when mating. Did he call you his mate?" Mira asked.

"Y-Yeah. I should probably talk to Gajeel."

"WOAH! Did you say, MATE! So, you guys did it already!?" Cana yelled.

"NO! No! We only…k-kissed." Erza vigorously denied.

"Don't worry Erza I'm sure Natsu had his reasons for leaving. We're going to find him. You can assure yourself of that." Mira told Erza confidently.

"Yeah! Don't worry Erza we'll find your man!" Cana reassured her.

"Thank you guys, you're right! I'm going to find Natsu and when I do he's going to regret doing what he did." Erza began to let out a dark aura.

"So, you and Natsu eh? I wonder what you did to Natsu to get his to mark you hmm~." Cana teased.

"It does make you wonder doesn't Cana? Who knows what they've done already~." Mira joined in.

"Cut it out already! We did no such things! Such things should only be done in marriage!" Erza said causing the two women to start giggling.

"Ah that felt good but I think I'm going to bed see ya Mira… see ya lover girl." Cana waved as she got out of the bath.

"That Cana…" Erza said slightly irritated at all the teasing.

"Haha, Erza relax we're just joking. I think I'm going to leave too, it's getting late." Mira left leaving Erza alone to her thoughts.

Erza reached up to touch the mark "Natsu…I hope you're okay."

* * *

_**THE NEXT DAY** _

Everyone including the King was gathered in the King's large conference room. All had their eyes on Levy after she told them she finished translating the book. She took a big breath and opened the book on the large table in front of them and began to flip through the pages revealing the names and images of various demons depicted until she got to Deliora.

"This book is most likely written by Zeref himself. Take a look, I only managed to translate a little over a page and half after staying up almost all night." Levy pointed at the page.

"No way…all that time and not even two page?" Lucy touched the page.

Everyone was a little surprised that with three mages working on translating the book they only managed to translate that much. Having someone like Levy and Freed work on the book many were sure they'd have the entire book translated in a few hours.

Doesn't this seem strange though? I mean there is no living documentation like this anywhere on END and Natsu just so happens to stumble across it" Freed said questioning the circumstances in which they found the book.

"What did you manage to translate?" Mira asked curious to the findings.

"According to the book END wasn't like his regular demons. He was created from a human or originally was a human."

Erza remembered Minerva who got turned into a half demon of some kind and was able to use curses back when they fought Tartaros. "What are you saying? END is a human with demonic power? Like Minerva?"

"Not entirely, from my understanding END was created using a human body as the base but unlike Minerva that person had already died. All that remains from the previous persona is the shell." Freed answered as he read over the notes written by Levy.

Levy nodded. "Not much is known about END, we only have stories here and there passed down through the generations. Much of what was documented from 400 years ago is either lost or been destroyed. The few things we think we know is that apparently he was so strong that Zeref could not control him and he went on a rampage all throughout Ishgar slaughtering countless innocent people. Eventually, he was somehow sealed and that was the last we heard of END."

"That is until now. Finding this book was no coincidence." Gajeel added "This book smells of nothing but evil. Something doesn't seem right."

"Yeah, you're right. Something isn't right here… how much you guys are willing to bet Zeref left this book there on purpose or maybe even Natsu himself?" Lucy said adding in her opinion.

"If that's true I'm also willing to bet Zeref talked with Salamander. Zeref seems to have an interest in him from what I've seen. Natsu was the only one Zeref said he wanted to meet on Tenrou Island. What was it they talked about I don't know but whatever he and Zeref talked about was probably the reason for him leaving."

While everyone was discussing Erza was in deep thought trying to use logic and everything she knew to try and make sense of the situation. She knew that Natsu had either left out of his own free will or at least didn't put up a fight. She knew that he and Zeref had some sort of connection and they most likely talked and was the reason for him leaving. And the book must have information about where he's going or at least why he left.

"This doesn't make any sense. What does this book have anything to do with Natsu leaving? What could him and Zeref have talked about that would have made him leave? And this book, did you find anything helpful?" Erza asked, speaking for the first time since they got to the room.

Levy looked at Erza and smiled "Actually I did."

"Really!? What did you find!?"

"So, I only managed to translate very few pieces of the book." Levy admitted.

"I see but anything helps, it's better than nothing."

"The reason I wasn't able to translate the whole book was that it was written in an ancient text and more importantly, The book had two layers of magic encoded."

"Meaning?" Cana asked, sounding drunk already.

Everyone turned to look at Cana seeing her red cheeks and glazed eyes giving her a look as if saying 'Really?'

"What why is everyone looking at me!?" Cana slurred before taking another drink.

Levy could only sigh at the display. "Meaning that the book had hidden entries kind of like Daybreak. It has information about Acnologia and Dragon Slayers. According to the book, Acnologia used to be a Dragon Slayer like Gajeel and Natsu. If a Dragon Slayer's powers weren't suppressed like they were with Gajeel, Natsu, and Wendy, they'd eventually turn into Dragons. One of the only ways for a Dragon Slayer to turn into a Dragon after having their powers suppressed is to kill and bathe in the blood of a Dragon that they killed. This is what concerns me, the book gives the location of Dragons that went into hiding after Acnologia began wiping them out. According to what Zeref wrote down, and not including Atlas Flame, Zirconnis, and the rest of the Dragons we've met, there are still Dragon's in hiding. This book gives the location of three Fire Dragons. One in Midi, one in the Pergrade Kingdom, and one in Desierto."

Erza furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Are you saying that Natsu's going after Dragon's to Slay them? That's insane, he'd die!"

Gajeel opened to a map in the book pointed at the three countries in question. "If Zeref is manipulating Natsu into getting power great enough then we got to stop him. If he's going anywhere it's going to be one of these three places."

Erza frowned and her face turned red with anger. "What are you saying!? That Natsu is being used by Zeref and we need to stop him!? That makes no sense Gajeel! Natsu wouldn't go after power in such a way!" She slammed her fist on the table causing everyone's eyes to fix on her.

Gajeel getting tired of Erza trying to rationalize everything in Natsu's defense decided to chime in. "Then tell me Titania, what did happen? Why would Salamander just leave? You had to have known that Zeref has an interest in Natsu since he's personally met him. And now we find out that Zeref likely talked with Natsu and all of a sudden, he's gone, not a word or anything."

Those statements by Gajeel only made Erza angrier, but she stayed quiet and walked out of the room not saying a single word.

"Gajeel...you didn't have to say that." Levy slightly glared at Gajeel but she knew he did it because he thought it was best for her.

"It's okay everyone, I'm going after her." Mira said leaving to go after Erza.

"So~ what's the plan then guys?" Lucy asked trying to get everyone focused again.

* * *

"Erza talk to me. You got to tell me what's bothering you." Mira called out to Erza who was still walking away.

"Look Erza, everyone's worried about Natsu. Gajeel didn't mean that as to demonize Natsu for what he did. He was only trying to reason why he did what he did. I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you but you know how Gajeel is."

Erza suddenly stopped. "I know."

"Then why did you leave?"

"Because I'm scared that it's true..."

* * *

Gajeel and the rest were discussing what to do when Erza and Mira walked back inside the room which surprised them.

Erza walked back in and apologized. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"Yeah-yeah, Why don't you instead of acting out like that help us find Natsu?" Gajeel told her making people nervous and begin to sweat at what he was telling her.

'Does he want to die!?' Many people thought internally, fearing for the Dragon Slayer.

Erza looked at Gajeel and nodded "Yes, you're right. Tell me, have you guys thought of a plan?"

Gajeel sighed in relief, glad that Erza didn't lash out at him. What he said was risky but he felt it needed to be said. "We'll split up into three groups. There are 10 of us so we need to split into two groups of four and one group of two. The group of two will go to Pergrande and will meet up with Gray and Juvia in Iceberg. The other two groups will go to either Desierto or Midi."

After figuring out everything and going over all the information on END as they possibly could, they had their groups decided and ready to head out. The group to Desierto was Gajeel, Levy. Erza, and Freed. The group going to Midi would be Mirajane, Lisanna, Cana, and Elfman. Finally, the group heading to meet up with Gray and Juvia to head towards Pergrande Kingdom would be Lucy and Wendy.

They spent all day planning which route to take and how to communicate with each other. They got state of the art communication lacrimas, courtesy of the king. The king and many advisors also warned about the dangers of Desierto and gave them a map of the safest routes and places to avoid if they could. They were all very thankful but the Kind said since Freed had helped his country he felt obliged to help them in return. He supplied them with information on each country and provided proper attire and paperwork to allow them to enter.

While Joya is very welcoming of foreigners, many countries are much more recluse like Midi. To enter into Desierto was fairly easy, but very dangerous. Luckily for them, the government still controls the majority of the west and would be able to get in and stay safe as long as they were in government-controlled areas. Paperwork into the Pergrande Kingdom was not hard to acquire and all he had to do was get documents saying they were traveling merchants of Joya and would be allowed inside. Now to get into Midi was difficult, to say the least. The small country has been known as the most reclusive country in Ishgar for as long as anyone can remember and hardly even allow diplomats inside. That left two options; one was to write to the leader of Midi a request of entry and hopefully be allowed inside, or two is to sneak into the country without authorization and be open to prosecution. The King decided to write a letter explaining the situation and hopefully, he would allow them inside.

"Although he responds quickly he almost never allows anyone inside his country but I think this time will be different." King Albarro said as he signed the letter.

"Thank you." Mirajane said as he attached the letter to a bird on a window behind him before taking off.

'So these are your kids, eh Makarov?'

* * *

Alone in her room, Erza was looking at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a long button up shirt going down to her thighs. She kept looking at herself and began unbuttoning her shirt, exposing the mark Natsu had left on her body. It was back again. Since the day she got it, it would disappear and come back again. She touched it and felt a bolt of electricity coursed throughout her body. Not only that but it was hot and seemed to glow a slight red color. She then fell into her bed and touched the mark again.

"Hmmm~" Erza tried to suppress a moan from the feeling from touching the mark.

She thought that she had been feeling as though the mark was fading recently it seemed to be as strong, if not stronger than before. Whenever the mark appeared it would make her whole body would burn up and she would need to 'relieve' herself and this was one of those days it seemed.

"Damn you…Natsu…making a woman do something so…shameful." She began to breathe heavily and her face fully red. 'I need to talk to Gajeel.' She thought before continuing with her actions for the night.

What Erza failed to notice was the mark beginning to spread through her chest. Little tendrils like shapes were coming off of the mark and Erza too caught up in pleasure didn't notice them. After she had finished, she was too exhausted and fell asleep and the mark disappeared, once again.

* * *

_**THE NEXT DAY - EARLY MORNING** _

Everyone had gathered outside the city packed and ready to go. Lucy and Wendy were heading north and had packed Jackets and had their documents stating they were merchants. Erza's team had their white traditional Desert robes and behind them stood two Joya soldiers that would accompany them while Mira's group for the meanwhile would need to wait whether they had been allowed to enter Midi.

Lucy and Wendy were the first to leave waving goodbye as they boarded a carriage that would take them to Iceberg. Now it was Erza's group and they too said their goodbyes and as Erza turned to leave Mira walked up called out to Erza.

"Erza."

Erza turned around. "Yeah Mira?"

Mira put a hand on her shoulder, leaned in, and whispered: "We're going to find him, If anyone's going to find him, it's us."

Erza surprised at what she was told only nodded and smiled.

"Hey, be careful!" Yelled Cana.

"We will. I'm as careful as they come you know." Gajeel smirked.

"Yeah, of course you are Gajeel. You're definitely known for being as careful as they come." Levy said with sarcasm.

"Whatever Shrimp" Gajeel huffed.

"Stop calling me that!"

"Nah, I don't think so Shrimp, your reaction's too funny, GEHE." Gajeel laughed. "Now come on it's time to get going." Gajeel picked up angry Levy and slung her over his shoulder causing her to blush and hit his back.

"STUPID GAJEEL! LET ME DOWN!" She continued hitting his back while Gajeel just laughed it off and continued to walk away while everyone sweat-dropped.

"I feel really bad for Erza Sis." Lisanna told Mira as she looked at Erza and the rest leave.

"Me too Lisanna, me too."

* * *

"So, we're going to Gray's country? Iceberg was it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty cold over there but thankfully the King gave us these coats." Lucy pulled out a beautiful white coat with snowflake pattern designed stitched on and fur coming out eh arm holes, bottom, and hood.

"Something tells me we won't find Natsu over there…he's not a big fan of the cold now is he?" Wendy forced a laugh.

Lucy could tell that Wendy was taking this especially hard. Natsu and her were especially close, she was closer to Natsu than anyone in the guild besides Charle. "Yeah, you're right." Lucy laughed.

Wendy looked outside the carriage window and remained silent for the rest of the ride.

* * *

"Great news, I just got word that you guys will be allowed entry into Midi. Here show the guards this letter and you should be allowed inside." King Albarro handed Mira the letter. "Follow my guards, they'll show you which way to head out."

"Let's get going then. Thank you for everything."

Mira, Cana, and Lisanna also thanked the King and then left the room. Following a few guards.

Elfman, Cana, and Lisanna also thanked the King and then left the room following a few guards and the King smiled 'So these are your kids Makarov?' He thought.

* * *

"So are we getting close or I mean what's up with all this sand?" Gajeel mumbled as he walked through the sand.

"Is that it?" Levy pointed to a huge sandstone wall heavily guarded with many soldiers, and mages.

"Yes just follow their orders and you should be fine." The Joyan soldier advised.

"Thank you, we got it from here." Erza thanked the guards and continued walking crossing into unknown territory. 'Natsu, where are you?'

* * *

"Are you suggesting a full-scale attack!?"

"Yes, I want to win this war fast and with as little casualties on our side as possible. A full-scale attack would ensure that."

"You know, it's a little naive to think that we will win as strong as we are that easy. We should not underestimate the enemy."

"Oh, and who might the enemy be exactly? We don't even know who's side they're on."

"That's exactly my point."

"HAHAHA! Don't tell me you actually think they can put up a fight with US!"

"Settle down you idiot. I have an idea to handle them. Brothers are meant to fight together in war, not against each other. Don't you agree my lord?"

"Of course Invel. Then again, I do wonder, what path will you choose, brother?"

'These people are actually planning a full-scale attack! I gotta warn them!" Sweat dripped down the man's face who was standing outside a large set of double doors, overhearing the conversation.

Hearing someone approaching her stepped away from the door and began walking in the opposite direction.

"Hey Doranbolt, I need you to deliver the Emperor's orders to the Royal Army. They are to begin training for a possible war." An old man with a large walking cane walked up to him.

Doranbolt nodded slowly in apprehension "Yes, understood Yajeel." He walked away with only one thought in mind and that was that he had to warn Fairy Tail no matter what.

* * *

"I sense something dark is approaching. Could it be? Is Ragnarok upon us?" An old man looked up at the dark clouds in the sky. He was wearing a dark hood and a robe that covered his race but his voice was one of old age. He also carried a mysterious staff.

"Is it finally time for you to come out of hiding, old friend? Will you finally find someone who you shall pass down your legacy as you did to me?"

Thunder cried through the skies and rain began to fall.

* * *

_**LATER THAT NIGHT** _

The wind blew harshly carrying the sand of the massive desert that never seemed to end under the bright full moon. The wind howling, breaking the utter silence creating the desert's tune but if one listened closely you could hear the sound of distant footsteps and certainly, there was someone walking through the desert covered completely from head to toe. You could not make out a single feature and under the shadow of the night the figure kept on walking. Every step the figure took it left behind a crimson trail. Blood dripped down from its face, hands, and body. Behind the figure were mutilated bodies scattered across the desert ground. Then the sound of laughter penetrated the air, the sound of insanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can tell Desierto will play a big role and I'm really excited to write more about it. So that's that regarding the other countries but another thing is I fucking hate how Fairy Tail progressed and it's a disappointment to say the least. I will not go the Cannon route at all. The Alvarez Arc will be completely different. As you can see I have a lot of things set up and new characters were and will be introduced. Can you guys guess who the last character is? Also, this is not just a Natsu and Erza focused story. I plan to have many characters play big roles and no Natsu will not be super OP one shot strong because that's honestly really boring. Anyways hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and see you guys with the next one! Also, let me know what you think and don't be scared to give a Kudos.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully I didn't disappoint! My plan for this story is to slowly diverge away from cannon but not too far from it. I don't want to say too much but just know that I will be taking this Fic in my own direction and I hope you all like it. Feel free to leave a comment, review, and tell me what you think. Also feel free to leave any kind of constructive criticism to help me improve as a writer.


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